About

Nurse Mare Foals: Born to Die

$22,421

pledged of $20,000 goal

383

backers

HOW TO HELP

This documentary will reveal the cruel secret that some in the various equine breeding industries don’t like to acknowledge or talk about: Every year during breeding season, hours-old, non-pedigreed foals are taken from their mothers, whose job is to be a nurse mare to a pedigree foal.

This cycle continues, over and over. The foals with championship potential are nourished by nurse mare’s milk critical to the health and survival of a baby horse. But what happens to the non-pedigreed and discarded foals? Many are left to die.

Victoria Goss and her small crew save about 150 foals during foaling season every January through June. Working directly with a few nurse mare farms in Southern Ohio and Kentucky, they pick up eight to ten foals at a time as soon as they get a phone call. Leaving at dawn with an empty horse trailer, they return in late afternoon with a new batch of hours-old foals ready to be cared for, nursed to health and readied for adoption. Victoria’s low 2 percent mortality rate astounds veterinarians. When the foals are stabilized, they are adopted by those qualified in equine care and housing. Some have become stars in their own right as therapy horses.

In October 2010, I volunteered at Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio, to muck stalls and help stock hay into one of the three barns on the property. Little did I know nor understand what this horse rescue organization has done since 1991. When I fully grasped the plight of the nurse mare foals, I was still drop-jawed with questions. Telling this story about the heroic work performed by Last Chance Corral founder Victoria Goss has become my passion.

I need your help. Without this Kickstarter, future work on this documentary is in jeopardy. But more importantly, creating awareness about the nurse mare foals will not be possible and more horses will die.

Born to Die is currently just under 11-minutes in length (which became my master's project at Ohio University in 2012). It is my goal to create a 30-minute feature that expands the story to show the viability of these horses.

All expenses have been out of pocket. It's what we do for the love of a story, right? Kickstarter funding will be used for documented expenses that have helped create the current story, which include equipment, travel, transportation and meals to Athens, Ohio. Post-production editing is a large part of what is ahead. Also built into the funding are expenses for gifts, shipping and fees for Kickstarter (5%) and Amazon (3-5%).

I hope you will join me in telling this important story. Let's create awareness and save lives. Thank you for any support you are able to give.

REWARDS AND GIFTS

SCREEN SAVER IMAGES

Resting foal at Last Chance Corral, Athens, Ohio

In the foal barn at Last Chance Corral, Athens, Ohio.

PRINTS DONATED FOR THIS KICKSTARTER PROJECT

A heartfelt thank you to my photojournalist colleagues who have spent much of their careers documenting horses and equine lifestyles. I asked a few of them if they would graciously donate one of their photographs to this Kickstarter campaign and they responded in kind by offering one print each at retail value.

Here are their beautiful images:

Photograph by MELISSA FARLOW, color, signed 11x14

Description: Horses rescued by Karen Sussman and the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. Gila herd are descendants of the Spanish horses brought in the 1600s by the conquistadors. They have primitive markings, dark mane and tail, a dorsal stripe and zebra stripes on their legs.

MELISSA FARLOW is an award-winning freelance photographer who has traveled the American West for National Geographic Magazine. See more about Melissa and her work here: http://olsonfarlow.com

BILL LUSTER is an award-winning newspaper photojournalist who recently retired from a storied career at the Courier-Journal in Louisville. Bill has photographed 47 Kentucky Derbies. See Bill's complete biography here:http://nppf.org/bios/bill-luster/

Photograph by WILLIAM ALBERT ALLARD, color, signed 11x14

Description: Calving time, Padlock ranch, Montana, 1975.

WILLIAM ALBERT ALLARD has written and contributed photographs for 42 National Geographic Magazine stories and has published five highly acclaimed books including "Vanishing Breed" (1982), in which the image offered for this Kickstarter appears. See about William Albert Allard and his work here:http://www.williamalbertallard.com

Risks and challenges

My biggest hurdle is post-production time and much of the work in 2015 will be post-production, which means hiring a producer to make this film the best it can be. My deep experiences as a journalist have given me mad skills in time management, problem solving and figuring out resources. I feel confident in pulling this off in a reasonable amount of time to submit to film festivals possibly in late 2015 and for sure in 2016. I understand deadlines and have an excellent track record for meeting them.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

1) Name a foal! And tell us the story behind the selected name so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foal (for sharing and printing).
3) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

1) Name a foal! Tell us the story behind the selected name so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foal (for sharing and printing).
3) You will receive a DVD of the current 11-minute documentary.
4) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

1) Name a foal! Tell us the story behind the selected name so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foal (for sharing and printing).
3) You will receive a DVD of the current 11-minute documentary.
4) You will receive a color photo book about Last Chance Corral.
5) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Color photograph, signed 11x14 print
By Melissa Farlow
http://olsonfarlow.com
Description: Horses rescued by Karen Sussman and the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. Gila herd are descendants of the Spanish horses brought in the 1600s by the conquistadors. They have primitive markings, dark mane and tail, a dorsal stripe and zebra stripes on their legs.

Purchasing this print will also list you as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

1) Name two foals (they are usually adopted in pairs)! Tell us the story behind the selected names so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foals (for sharing and printing).
3) Receive a DVD of the current 11-minute documentary.
4) You will receive a color photo book about Last Chance Corral.
4) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

1) Name three foals! Tell us the story behind the selected names so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foals (for sharing and printing).
3) You will receive a DVD of the completed documentary (estimated delivery Nov 2015).
4) You will also receive a color photo book about Last Chance Corral.
5) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

1) Name three foals! Tell us the story behind the selected names so we can share your story on borntodie.org, lastchancecorral.org Web sites and the Born To Die Facebook page.
2) You will receive a screensaver photograph of the foals (for sharing and printing).
3) You will receive a DVD of the completed documentary (estimated delivery Nov 2015).
4) You will also receive a color photo book about Last Chance Corral.
5) You will be listed as a donor on the borntodie.org Web site and listed as executive producer in the film credits.

NOTE: Since foals arrive January through June, we will send out pictures throughout the season.